A decade ago, the world was engrossed in the football tournament taking place in Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics. En route to the tournament, one Junior Ajayi proved himself pivotal, scoring plenty to get the Super Eagles to the Games.

The striker from Lagos remained a staple of the 18-man squad in Rio de Janeiro. In the end, he came away with a well-earned bronze medal after Nigeria conquered Honduras in the third-place game.

Much more glory was to come for Junior Ajayi, who used the Rio Games as a springboard to silverware and even a national team call-up. Now 30 years old, where is he playing now, and what path did his career take the striker on?

Hitting the Big Time in Egypt

Egypt has been the crown jewel of African domestic football for decades, predominantly because of the might and dominance of one team in particular. The legacy, success, and money of Al Ahly have created quite the draw.

On top of this, there’s the chance of living locally to the team that plays out of the Cairo International Stadium. The venue boasts 74,100 seats, while the surroundings are nothing short of iconic.

Living near Cairo is to live near the great myths and pyramids of the ancient world. To this day, they remain revered and a fascination worldwide. It’s why millions travel there each month, and creatives continue to use the setting.

You only have to look as far as the most popular or the new games when you play bingo online to see this. At the time of writing, Fury of Anubis, Eye of Horus The Golden Table Gold Spins, and Mo’ Mummy Valley of Riches headlined.

So, there’s this combination of professional appeal and personal intrigue to coming to Egypt. Junior Ajayi leapt at the opportunity. From Tunisian Ligue 1 side, Ajayi moved to Al Ahly for roughly €2.5 million.

After joining, the Super Eagles striker went on to score 41 goals and 30 assists in 161 appearances, claiming four Egyptian titles, two Egyptian Cups, the CAF Champions League twice, and the Egyptian Super Cup twice.

Such an illustrious run caught the eye of the national team in 2018, earning him a call-up and a cap. However, by 2021, he found himself in need of a change from his world-renowned scenery in the Egyptian capital.

A Professional Tour of the Middle East

Al Ahly has a history of rotating in and out top-class players. In 2021, speedster South African Percy Tau joined, as did Luís Miquissone. The boss at the time, South African Pitso Mosimane, favored them over Ajayi.

This forced the Nigerian striker to demand his contract be terminated. He left in 2022 and joined Al-Nasr SC in the Libyan top flight. Soon after, he was back in Egypt with Smouha, where he scored four goals in eight games.

After reportedly being abandoned by Smouha when he picked up an injury in 2022, FIFA ordered the club to pay him $70,000 in 2023. Eventually, he found his way back in Libya with Al-Hilal SC, where he scored once in 15 games.

Since that early 2025 move, Ajayi has bounced from the Libyan club to Al-Wehdat SC in the Jordan Pro League, and now to Al-Karamah SC in Syria. Much like Egypt, but to less global renown, it’s also a country steeped in impressive ancient history and lined with iconic sites.

Now predominantly playing on the left wing, Ajayi will try to help the Bassel Al Assad Stadium resident return to their glory days of the late 2000s. From 2005/06 to 2009/10, they won the cup and the league four times each.

Junior Ajayi managed to capitalize on an excellent run to a bronze medal to secure multiple titles with one of the continent’s premier teams. While his career has faded since, his achievements in Egypt remain incredibly impressive.

Head coach of the U20 team of Nigeria Abdullahi Maikaba has submitted his list of players who will represent Nigeria at the WAFU B tournament after a month of training in Abuja, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Maikaba finalised his squad for the tournament during the week bringing an end to a process that has seen over 100 players pushing to make the team for the tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Nigerian team will leave for the Ivorian city of Abidjan on the 20th of July as they bid to make it to the U20 AFCON via the tournament, which serves as qualifiers.

It will be played between July 26th to August 9th between 8 teams. Nigeria have won the last two editions of the tournament under coach Ladan Bosso and Aliyu Zubairu.

Maikaba will be aiming to match their feat, but more importantly qualify for the AFCON, which is the primary purpose of the tournament.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Newly appointed coach of Portugese side Benfica Marco Silva has handed a first team spot to 19 year old Nigerian striker Peter Edokpolor for the start of pre season training, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fresh from signing a two years extension to his stay at the club , Silva who replaced Jose Mourinho will use the pre season games to run the rule on the young Nigerian.

Signed from an academy in Abuja in January 2025 shortly after turning 18, he has been deployed in two roles namely as a striker and winger drawing comparison to one of their former players in Darwin Nunez.

Last year, he started out with the U23s, but midway through the season he was promoted to the B team, where he still made 19 appearances, just two as a starter, totalling 523 minutes with three goals.

He is a player whose evolution stands out in this year and a half at the club. Tactically and technically, he has improved a lot and will push to be a mainstay of the first team under Silva.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Europa League winners Aston Villa has joined the list of teams interested in signing 24 year old Nigeria international winger Femi Azeez from English Championship side Millwall, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Azeez made his debut for Nigeria in the summer after hitting 11 goals with 8 assists in 34 matches last season. He carried the form to the Nigerian team where he netted a brace in the semi final 2-0 win over Zimbabwe, before bagging an assist in the 3-0 win over Jamaica in the final of the Unity Cup friendly tournament.

Teams like Bournemouth were the earliest to show interest in him, before newly promoted Ipswich Town took it a step further with a rumoured bid of £25m which was rejected by Millwall.

Latest report says Villa who are strengthening the depth of their team ahead of the challenge of playing in the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League and other cup tournaments have already contacted his representative.

The idea is to ensure that an agreement is reached on time for him to be available for coach Unai Emery when pre season begins.

Daniel Martins

English Premier League side Chelsea have stolen a march on teams interested in signing young Nigerian striker Abdulmuiz Adeleke by reaching a pre contract agreement to sign him when he turns 18, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Presently in the camp of the U20 team of Nigeria preparing for the WAFU B tournament, he stole the attention of many when he burst onto the scene for the U17 team of Nigeria at the 2024 WAFU B tournament in Nigeria Republic.

He scored a brace in the 3-0 win over Togo and followed it up with another brace in the third place playoff against Ghana, ending the tournament with four goals despite Nigeria failing to pick a ticket to the U17 AFCON.

We gathered from sources in the U20 camp of Nigeria, that he has already visited Chelsea’s training ground where he was assessed by the youth team coaches before the agreement was struck.

For now he will focus on making a good impression with the Nigeria U20 team like he did at U17 level two years ago. The tournament which is the qualifiers for the U20 AFCON is scheduled for next month.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international striker Akor Adams says there is no truth in reports that he has agreed terms on a summer move to newly promoted Italian Serie A side Venezia, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Reports in the Italian press and some selected outlets in Nigeria have it that he has agreed terms on a move with a transfer fee to be agreed with Sevilla, the only thing remaining for the deal to be made official.

Sevilla it was reported are willing to let go of the 26 year old to ease their financial burdens, and won’t stand in his way despite his last season goal tally of ten.

Akor has strongly denied the reports insisting that there is no substance to it, and he isn’t surprised by it because of the time that we are in which is the period of transfers and speculations.

“It is normal that during this period there will be rumours of transfer moves for a lot of players, and not just myself,”

“I have not spoken to my agent, and I do not take such things seriously because right now it is time to relax and recharge for next season.” The AFCON 2025 Bronze medallist told Footy Africa .

Ade Emmanuel

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has his sights on convincing England U21 international Ethan Nwaneri to switch his nationality to Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nwaneri spent the second half of last season on loan to French Ligue 1 side Marseille, but he is back at Arsenal where a decision will be taken on his future before the close of the summer transfer window.

Chelle is a huge fan of the 19 year old and sees him as the solution and top option for the number 10 role of the team. A meeting with his representatives was planned in the summer during the Unity Cup, but his invitation to the English training camp for the world cup halted the plan.

A fresh approach is high on the priority list of Chelle, but the timing has to be right with the player’s future yet to be sorted after his return from an unsuccessful loan spell in France.

Sources close to the coach says he is cautiously optimistic of a productive end after talks, and will look to use the quartet of Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Ola Aina in helping to get a positive response.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Banik Ostrava defender Abdullahi Bewene has revealed the secret behind his impressive debut for the senior national team of Nigeria in the recent friendly games against Poland and Portugal respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The 22 year old was handed a late ball up to the senior national team of Nigeria by coach Eric Chelle for the games, after a spate of withdrawals left the team without a recognised right back.

Bewene made an impression in training and was handed a start again Poland for his debut, and he didn’t look out of place earning praises from Chelle and his teammates.

He was a second half substitute against Portugal, and like it was against Poland he didn’t struggle against the star studded team, earning more praises than his first game.

” I can’t really say what triggered my performance because the coach gave me instructions that made it easy for me to cope. But I must say one of the senior players in the team Moses Simon played a huge role”, he said from his base in Jos in an exclusive chat.

” My agent spoke with him (Simon) when I was called up and he ensured that I was comfortable in the camp, training and even during the match. The advice I will never forget was when he told me to enjoy myself, make mistakes and learn from it”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Newly signed Brighton and Hove Albion winger Zadok Yohanna says getting dropped from the Nigeria U17 and later U20 within a space of six months toughened him for his exploits in Europe, OwnGoalNigeria.com.

The 18 year old made the biggest transfer of any Nigerian in the ongoing summer transfer window, when he joined the English side for a fee in the region of £21m from Swedish side AIK, 18 months after he was signed from Nigerian Academy Ikon Allah FC.

Speaking to OwnGoalNigeria.com on his experience in the camp of the youth team of Nigeria, the soft spoken left footed ace said it was what largely shaped his career.

” You have to understand that the camp had over 70 players as at the time I was there, and some where already the core of the team. I kept pushing to be noticed by giving twice of my ability in training and it helped improved my game tremendously”, he said in an exclusive chat.

” I got use to fighting in the camp of Nigeria U17 and U20 , so when I got to Europe it was like the fighting continue. So that experience shaped me and I thank God for how everything is going in my career”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman